2026 Sacred Rhythms Newsletter Series
Sacred Rhythms Phase 1 Foundations
Definitions to use with Sacred Rhythms
Sacred Rhythms Phase 1 Foundations
Week 2-May 3, 2026-What is work?
Week 3 – May 10, 2026 – What is Rest?
Week 4 – May 17, 2026 – Capital “W” vs lowercase “w”
Week 5 – May 24,2026- The Shema
Week 6-May 31,2026- The Shema
Sacred Rhythms Phase 2 Vocation Map using the Shema
Week 7-June 7, 2026: Heart
Week 8-June 14, 2026 The Zombie Mode Danger
Week9-June21, 2026 Soul (שׁ ֶפֶנ) Nephesh
Week 10 ~ June 28, 2026 ~ The Identity Crisis
Week 11 ~ July 5, 2026 ~ Mind (διάνοια – Dianoia)
Week 12 ~ July 12, 2026 ~ The Waste of Mindlessness
Introduction – Week 1: April 26, 2026
An Invitation to Intentionality We’ve all been there: Another week ends and you realize that yet again you’re “skimming” your life rather than actually living it. Perhaps you move from the frantic pace of the work week into a blur of weekend errands and Netflix, finding yourself back at the next Monday morning just as exhausted as the prior week.
The Faith Formation committee is offering a 31-week newsletter journey called Sacred Rhythms. Our goal isn’t to give you a longer to-do list; it’s to help you find the Work and Rest God intends for you among what you are already doing. Consider this article series a weekly invitation to shift from skimming to living with the intentionality of a co-creator.
Over the next seven months, we will journey through the biblical landscape of human activity. We will begin by redefining Work and Rest, casting off the world’s narrow definitions of “drudgery” and “escape.” We will then discover how the Shema empowers us to bring our full selves to our daily tasks. We’ll identify the thorns and thistles of toil that so often deplete us. We’ll put a special focus on leisure—commodified respite that often numbs us rather than heals us. Finally, we will learn the art of Sabbath Rest, shifting from the passive consumption of leisure to the active, joyful reveling in the fruitful transformation of the world.
Scripture for Reflection: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16, NRSV)
Reflection Question: If you had to describe the tempo of your life right now—frantic, sluggish, aimless, overflowing, rhythmic, or chaotic—which word would you choose and why?
Practice: The Tempo Audit Once a day this week, stop for 60 seconds and simply notice your internal “speed.” Just notice the pace without judgment.
Week 2 May 3, 2006
2026 Sacred Rhythms Newsletter Series
Phase 1: Foundations
Fruitful Transformation: When we think of work, we often think of a paycheck or a job
title. But for the Christian, Work is much broader. Author Andy Crouch defines Work as:
“The fruitful transformation of the world through attention, memory, and skill by
applying heart, mind, soul, and strength.” This definition includes everyone. If you are a student, your Work is the transformation of information into wisdom. If you are retired, your Work might be the transformation of a messy garden into a place of beauty or a lonely neighbor’s afternoon into a time of connection. Work is the fruitful furthering of creation. You are a co-creator with God, taking the garden He gave you and adding to the “very good.”
Scripture for Reflection: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden
of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, ESV)
Reflection Question: Think of one small thing you ordered or tended this week. How did
that act make your corner of the world a little more like the original Garden?
Weekly Practice: Name the Fruit Before you finish your final task of the day, identify
one specific thing you transformed from chaos to order. Say it out loud: “I transformed
this yarn into a gift for my grandchild,” or “I transformed this complex problem into a
solution for my team.”
Week 3 – May 10, 2026 – What is Rest?
Glad Contemplation: If God doesn’t have a physical body that needs sleep, why does the
Bible say God rested on the seventh day?The fact that God rests suggests that biblical
Rest isn’t just about recharging a battery. In Genesis, God looks at everything He made,
sees that it is “very good,” and stops to enjoy it. Rest is about reveling in goodness. Andy
Crouch defines Rest as “the glad contemplation of Work well done.”Rest is the pause
that allows us to actually see the fruit of our labor. Whether it’s a career milestone or a
clean kitchen, Rest is a spiritual feast where we acknowledge that the world is held togetherby God’s grace, not our own frantic effort.
Scripture for Reflection: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good… So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because
on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 1:31–
2:3, NRSV)
Reflection Question: When was the last time you stopped to simply look at something
you accomplished—no matter how small—and said, “This is good,” without immediately
moving to the next task?
Weekly Practice: The 30-Second Behold After you complete a task this week, stand in
the doorway or sit in your chair for 30 seconds. Do not pick up your phone or start the
next chore. Simply look at the finished work and acknowledge its goodnes
Week 4 May 17, 2026
Capital “W” vs lowercase “w”
Detangling Our Days: In our daily lives, we use the word “work” for everything from our
careers to cleaning the gutters. To find a better rhythm, we need to separate these
activities.
There is Work (capital “W”): your biblical vocation, where you use your heart, mind,
soul, and strength to serve your neighbor and care for creation. Then, there are the
necessary chores—the lowercase “w” work—that keep life moving. This week, we begin a
focus on our vocation map. We’re looking for clues to help us separate soul-filling Work
and Rest from the toil and leisure that often leave us feeling empty or aimless.
Scripture for Reflection : “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not
for men…” (Colossians 3:23, NRSV)
Reflection Question: Look at your calendar for the coming week. Which activities feel
like a Vocation (serving others and God) and which feel like mere toil (fruitless effort)?
Weekly Practice: The Calendar Audit Pick one day this week and review your past 24
hours. Mark your tasks with a “W” if they felt like a fruitful service to others, and a “T ” if
they felt like mindless, draining toil. Ask God to help you bring more heart to those “T”
tasks tomorrow.
Week 5 – May 24, 2026 The Shema
Loving with the Full Self: At Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Spirit empowering us for God’s Work.
It’s the perfect time to introduce the Shema, the central prayer of the People of God found in
Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
The Shema tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength (and, implied in the Hebrew and
made explicit when translated into Greek, our mind). These aren’t just poetic words; they are the
dimensions of human wholeness. When we Work, we are meant to bring our full selves to the task.
When we fail to apply all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind, our Work quickly degenerates into
toil. Over the next few weeks, we will look at how to re-engage each part of ourselves in our daily
callings, no matter our stage of life.
Scripture for Reflection: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, ESV)
Reflection Question: Which part of yourself is hardest to bring to your daily work or service—your
heart, your mind, your soul, or your strength?
Weekly Practice: Identify the Gap Identify which dimension of the Shema is most missing from your
activity right now. Are you working with your Mind (reasoning and skill) but without your Heart
(intentional love)? Are you using your Strength (resources) but neglecting your Soul (your breath and
identity as God’s child)? Simply name it in prayer each mornin
Week 6 May 31, 2026 : Shema
To Hear is to Obey: The Hebrew word Shema ( שְׁמַע ) is usually translated as “Hear.” But in the Bible, hearing isn’t just about sound waves—it’s about action.
Think of telling a child, “Listen to me.” You don’t just want them to understand the words; you want them to actually clean their room. In Hebrew thought, you haven’t truly heard until you have responded with obedience. As we continue this series, our goal is to Shema—to listen so deeply to God’s design for work and rest that it actually changes how we walk, whether on Tuesday afternoons or Saturday mid-day.
Scripture for Reflection: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25, NRSV)
Reflection Question: Is there a nudge from God you’ve been hearing lately but haven’t yet put into action? What is one small step of obedience you can take this week?
Weekly Practice: One Act of Obedience Take one nudge you’ve felt during this first month of the series—perhaps a need to set a boundary at work or make a decision to spend more time in glad contemplation—and turn it into a single, concrete action. Don’t just think about it; do it.
June 7, 2026 | Week 7: Heart (לֵבָב – Levav)
The Seat of Intentionality: In our modern world, we think of the heart as the place where fuzzy feelings live. But in Hebrew, your heart, or Lev or Levav (לֵבָב), is much sturdier. It represents your will, your reasoning, your determination, and your moral compass. Your Levav is the mission control of your life.
To Work with your Levav means to Work with intentionality. It involves a decision to channel your efforts toward a specific good. Whether you are drafting a proposal, volunteering at a food pantry, or simply listening to a friend, doing it “with heart” means you are undertaking it as an intentional act. Without Levav, work is just movement; with Levav, Work becomes a purposeful act of love and service.
Scripture for Reflection: “The Lord says: ‘Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts (Levav) are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote; …'” (Isaiah 29:13, NRSV)
Reflection Question: When you look at your primary tasks this week, which one feels like it has the most of your Levav—your intentional will and focus—behind it?
Weekly Practice: The “Why” Anchor Before starting a task you usually find mundane (like checking email or folding laundry), pause for five seconds and name your “why.” For example: “I am doing this to clear space for my team,” or “I am doing this to care for my home.”
Week 8 ~ June 14, 2026 ~ The Zombie Mode Danger
Working Without Heart: What happens when we work without heart—Levav (ב ָבֵל)?We enter what
we might call zombie mode. This is a state of apathy where we are physically present, but our will is
absent. We go through the motions, yet numb ourselves throughout the day. Zombie mode isn’t just a
productivity problem; it’s a spiritual problem. In Hebrew thought, you cannot say you Ahav (ב ַה ָא)-
love—something if you are not actively caring for it. If you have a garden but don ’t regularly water the
plants, you do not Ahav the garden. If you do not steward creation and treat neighbors in the ways God
proscribes, you do not Ahav God. Love is not just a feeling. The word Ahav occurs most frequently in the book of Deuteronomy, a law book which directly links Ahav to following God ’s commandments. Love
means action: worshiping and serving God, treating others in ways God proscribes, and serving the
community. In zombie mode, we default to mindless grind rather than our biblical calling to fruitfully
transform the world. This robs us of the joy of being co-creators who are fully awake to the goodness
around us.
Scripture for Reflection: “…Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that
you may love (Ahav) the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord
is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, NIV)
Reflection Question: Where are you currently checking out or going on autopilot? Perhaps at work, at
home, or in your service to others?
Weekly Practice: The Five-Sense Reset When you catch yourself slipping into zombie mode this
week, stop and name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can
taste. This simple act pulls your heart back into the present moment.
Week 9 ~ June 21, 2026 ~ Soul (שׁ ֶפֶנ) Nephesh
The Living Breath: The Hebrew and Greek words commonly translated as soul in the Bible are much
debated. The Greeks thought of a soul as a ghost trapped inside our bodies. But in Hebrew, your
soul—Nephesh )שֶׁפֶנ is incredibly physical. Its most literal meaning is “throat” or “neck.” It represents
the unity of your body and your breath.
In Genesis, man didn’t receive a soul; he became a living Nephesh. God doesn’t call you to bring a
disembodied spirit to work—you are to bring your whole, physical, breathing self. To Work with
Nephesh is to recognize that your physical presence and your literal voice matter. We bring our souls
to our Work to breathe life into the world, honoring the fact that we are living beings, not machines.
Scripture for Reflection: “then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being
(Nephesh).” (Genesis 2:7, NRSV)
Reflection Question: How does it change your view of yourself to realize that your soul isn’t a ghostly
part of you that is trapped in flesh, but your whole, breathing, physical being?
Weekly Practice: The Breath Prayer Several times during the day, stop and take three deep, conscious
breaths. As you inhale, say silently: “I am a living soul…” As you exhale: “…breathed into life by God.”
Week 10 ~ June 28, 2026 ~ The Identity Crisis
Working Without Soul: When we try to work without our soul—Nephesh )שׁ ֶפֶנ(, we face
an identity crisis. We see ourselves as machines or commodities valued only for our output,
and we become rigid, unfeeling, and breathless.
In this state, we treat our biological signals—hunger, exhaustion, or the simple need
for a break—as annoying maintenance lights to be ignored rather than holy cries
from a living soul. When we commodify ourselves in this way, we lose our humanity.
This week, we remember that we are called to Work from a place of “enough.” We belong
to God, regardless of our productivity. We bring our souls to Work not to find or earn life,
but to breathe life into the world.
Scripture for Reflection: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human
hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears,
but do not hear; noses but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but
do not walk; they make no sound in their throats (Nephesh). Those who make
them are like them; so are all who trust in them.” (Psalm 115:4-8, NRSV)
Reflection Question: Do you ever feel pressured into running like a machine designed
only for output? What part of your humanity do you hide in your search to be
productive? What would it mean for you to “make a sound in your throat/soul”?
Weekly Practice: The “Enough” Declaration At the end of the day, look at your
unfinished to-do list and say out loud: “I am a living soul, not a machine. My worth is not
in my output. I have done enough for today
Week 11 ~ July 5, 2026 ~ Mind (διάνοια – Dianoia)
Bringing Order to Chaos: As shared in week 7, the Hebrew concept of the mind is
captured within heart—Levav )ב ָבֵל In Greek, however, heart and mind are separate
concepts. To address this, when Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Scriptures into the
Greek Septuagint a couple centuries before Jesus ’ time, they added the word Dianoia
(διάνοια) to maintain the original meaning. Thus, when we read about Jesus quoting the
Shema in the New Testament, He includes “mind”.
In Greek, working with your mind is to act as an agent of order. God looked at the
formless void and brought structure. When you use your mind to organize a project,
solve a technical glitch, or navigate a complex family schedule, you are taking raw data of
life and turning it into something coherent and useful. Using your mind in your Work is
a way of honoring the God of Logic and Truth.
Scripture for Reflection: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your minds (Dianoia), so that you may discern what is the will
of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NRSV)
Reflection Question: Where in your life this week did you feel the most mental
satisfaction—that moment where a mess finally made sense?
Weekly Practice: The Orderly Act Identify one small area of chaos in your physical
environment (a junk drawer, a desktop, a messy shelf) or a mental process (an unclear
goal). Spend 15 minutes using your mind to bring order to it. As you do, acknowledge
that you are reflecting God’s creative nature
Week 12 ~ July 12, 2026 ~ The Waste of Mindlessness
Working Without Mind: Mindlessness is a drone state. This happens when we stop
asking why we are doing what we’re doing and just keep pulling the lever. When we work
without our minds, we waste energy, miss opportunities for improvement, and eventually
lose interest. Mindlessness is the enemy of craft. Whether as a retired hobbyist or a
professional, “mailing it in” is a subtle way of saying that the task—and the people it
serves—don’t matter. God gave us the gift of intellect not just to finish tasks, but to
refine them. This week, we repent of our thoughtless grind and ask God to re-engage our
curiosity.
Scripture for Reflection: “What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I
will pray with the mind (Dianoia) also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will
sing praise with the mind also.” (1 Corinthians 14:15, NRSV)
Reflection Question: Is there a part of your daily routine that has become so mindless
that you’ve stopped looking for ways to improve it or perform it more lovingly?
Weekly Practice: The “Why” Check Three times this week, in the middle of a routine
task, stop and ask: “How does this specific action serve God or my neighbor?” If you can’t
find an answer, ask God to help you re-engage your mind or help you change or abandon
the task.